Hillas | Macedonian Thrace Brewery SA

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I had a coupla these at the Pegasus restaurant in the Greektown neighborhood in Chicago. Nice place. I asked for their best Greek beer (when in Rome... right?) and this is what I was served.

A - Pale yellow, standard lager color. A crisp white cap dissolves quickly, and little lace is left on the 6 or 8 oz glass that I was given. Have you guys ever noticed that almost all "ethnic" restaurants, whether they are Indian, Asian, Greek, etc. all give you a glass with your beer that is smaller in volume than the bottle of beer you ordered? American, British, German, Belgian, and Irish-style pubs all give you a massive glass to hold your big beer, but it seems like any restaurant with origins in Asia or the Mediterranean want you to pour your 12 oz beer in two servings. What gives? (sorry for the rant)

S - Gentle grain and a wisp of honey that sets it apart from most "basic" lagers.

T - On the sweet side for the style, but that helps it stand out a bit. Although it is pretty basic.

M - Crisp, light, refreshing. Pairs well with the Dolmades dish that I ordered, and with the Spanakopita that I finished for my wife.

D - A good, but very simple lager. Every country in a warm climate has its own iteration of a refreshing pale lager, and this is no different. A step above BMC for sure, but it isn't anything special.

I tried this at Athenas in Chicago. It poured a clear golden with fizzy white head that is not leaving any lace. The scent had hints of grain. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink. The mouthfeel was lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall it was my fav from there.

Sickly, pale yellow/gold in hue; gross fizzy white head, at the apex the there was almost two fingers of foam. Head retention was fair, the bubbles slowly faded to a soapy cap, half finger tall. Small, soapy cap lasted the entire consumption. There was minimal, spotty lacing. Average appearance.

The nose is clean with hints of grain, earth, hay and dust (?). Odd. Macro lager-like but without the adjuncts? The label claims water, malt, hop, yeast. Apparently there was very little malt or hop used. Hell, maybe they used only one hop. No false advertising here based on what I smell. The nose is way to faint and clean for me to say anything positive.

Amazingly bland palate, clean, weakly malty with no trace of hops. Not watery but not flavorful either. I am baffled with Hillas. It is so bland; lifeless. I tried it once before and it reminded me of Old Style but now it is even more flavorless then I remembered. Mass-produced boredom.

About medium in body, moderate-low carbonation, the mouthfeel fits this beer well-enough.

In some ways the flavor and drinkability could be rated high. If neutrality and chugability are your thing then Hillas will rock your world. If you like flavor and depth, youll hate this beer. Props to Hillas  no green bottle. I never seen this beer until it arrived at Beertopia. Curiosity sparked me to try it  twice. No more, I swear. If it was cheaper, maybe. If I want a beer like this Ill drink PBR.

I ordered this beer with my dinner at the Greek Village Restaurant in Schaumburg, IL. It was the only beer on their list I hadn't tried before. 300ml brown bottle served in an undersized Miller Light glass. No freshness date.

The beer poured a clear pale yellow color with a 1-finger white head and hundreds of tiny carbonation bubbles racing to the top. Retention was less than a minute and there were only a few spots of lacing left on the glass. (I wonder if this was due to restaurant dishwater soap residue on the glass as most reviewers said their head retention was good with lots of lacing.)

I came across this one unexpectedly at the Greek festival in Santa Barbara this weekend. While I'm not a big lager fan, I did enjoy this one.

A - Pale straw body. A little cloudy. Pretty sizeable head!
S - Slightly sweet malty scent, but not too much here. If I missed anything in the scent department, it could be because there was a bunch of other scents from all the festival food clogging up my nose.
T - Pretty flavorful for a lager! Good malt and hops combo. The most assertive flavor I taste is a sort of sublte honey sweetness.
M - Light, but relative to the style there's a good deal of flavor rolling around my tongue.
D - The subtle flavor and smoothness makes this exceptionally drinkable.

Been drinking this for about a year now at Costa's restaurant in Chicago's Greektown. I figure that says something, because it wasn't so spectacular or dreadful that I felt particularly inspired to review it, but here goes:

Pours a rich golden yellow with a pure white head that lingers with a few traces of lace. Aroma is mainly clean malt with a bit of grassy hops in the background. The flavor is true to the aroma, with a truly nice malt flavor that does not trespass into the sweet side of the spectrum, gently balanced by an unobtrusive hop bitterness.

Gentle carbonation keeps this beer refreshing and the palate clean, making this beer seem a little lighter than it really is. This is a true "lawnmower" beer, refreshing, sessionable, interesting enough to make a keep your attention after the first 3 or 4, but not so complex that you run over the roses with the brush hog in a moment of fermented ecstasy.

Pours a four finger bubbly white head that fades to a thin layer leaving a little lace. Light clear amber color. Light carbonation and light-medium bodied. Piney, grassy nose. Starts nearly balanced just on the hoppy side not finding any sweetness, simple lager, slight soapy aftertaste. $1.65 for a 330ml bottle from John's Market Tigard, Or. Best before July 7, 2006 and still okay.

I think I'm the only one in my vicinity that's not having this at a nearby Greek restaurant. Regardless, this stuff pours a clear straw topped by a finger of lightly off-white foam. The nose comprises toasted cereal grains and light moss and tobacco notes. The taste sweetens the grains, dumps the greens (thankfully), and drops in a bit of hard water. The body is a rather light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a very fluid feel. Overall, this is a thoroughly underwhelming little beer, one that refuses to even try to distinguish itself from the usual "Euro pale lager" fare.

This was a white elephant from my boss at Xmas. Part of a Cost Plus World Market Beers of the World

App- More of a lighter yellow with a bit of gold in the glass. A semi puffy 1 finger head with some good retention and lace where there.

Smell- A nice mix of a little bitter with some sweeter malts. It was an interestinga aromatic as the lager yeast was well hidden this benefited from that.

Taste- Again, the lager yeast was hidden to me and didnt have that usual skunky flavor but was a bit sweet with a nice little tinge of bitter and a bit of wheat for some reason. A little pepper I found complimentary in the flavor layers.

Mouth- A bit light bodied and medium carbed. Very clean and crisp. Needed a bit more body for me.

Taste- Better than average but not by much. One of the few Greek beers I have seen besides Mythos. Cheers to new countries importing some pretty good beer.